HeartBeats
by 5MinuteMiracles
Summary: James Potter has always thought that Teddy was his brother, but the time has come for Harry to explain to James where Teddy's Mummy and Daddy have gone, and why. One-shot. R&R.


**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter *sob sob***

Harry pushed open the door to his home on a fairly average Wednesday evening, only to be greeted by a small pair of arms wrapping around his legs.

"Daddy!" James yelled, sprinting into the hallway and joining his brother in his Father's embrace.

"Hiya Jamie, hiya Al" Harry laughed, bending down to receive them properly, "Where's Teddy? I'm meant to be dropping him off at his Grandma's house soon" he added, straightening up, with Al now in his arms.

"He's in the livin' room, colouring in a pishure" James explained, grasping for his Dad's hand.

Harry grinned, and walked into the spacious living room, only to find 10-year-old Teddy Lupin on the floor, tongue sticking out, shading in a dragon.

"Hi Ted, you already to go in about 10 minutes?" Harry said, plopping Al onto the sofa. He instantly clambered off and joined Teddy on the floor. Teddy looked up, startled, and glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Oh, I didn't realise the time" he said, grinning sheepishly, and getting to his feet. James was frowning at Teddy, and he let go of Harry's hand, and ran up to his godbrother.

"Teddy stays here, Daddy" he said stubbornly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I can't, Jamie, I'm going back to stay with gran" Teddy said, walking towards the door, to collect his bags. James looked sadly as Teddy left the room, and turned back to his Dad. Harry sighed, and collapsed onto a nearby chair, as James furrowed his eyebrows. Harry watched him closely; he could practically hear the small boy's brain thinking.

Suddenly, James' face lit up, and Harry smiled, bemused, as James opened his mouth to talk.

"Can I go to Granma's house too?" He asked, eyes shining. Al looked up at his brother, and nodded in agreement.

"Burrow" he said, giggling happily. Harry shook his head, and James huffed out his disapproval.

A second later, Teddy rushed back into the room, laden with bags. He put them on the floor, and said proudly,

"Ready to go!"

"Teddy, did you carry all your bags in one go, by yourself" Harry asked, shaking his head in exasperation. Teddy grinned, and gave a quick nod to the head, innocently.

"I did. Ginny said she wanted to help, but I knew _you_ would say that she wouldn't be allowed, so I said no"

"You could have called me. I'm only at the bottom of the stairs, you know"

Teddy shrugged, "Forgot" he said simply. Harry grinned a little, and stood up, walking over to the floo. He waved his wand at the luggage, sending it off to Andromeda's house. Teddy hugged James and Al, before yelling a farewell up the stairs to Ginny.

Harry took his hand, and together they flooed away.

James stared miserably at the place where they had departed, and turned to his little brother.

"Do _you_ know why Teddy's going again?" James asked him, even though Albus wasn't giving the slightest care to Teddy leaving; he went every week after all.

"Teddy at Burrow?" Albus asked.

"He's with Grandma" James said, nodding.

"Gra'ma" Albus agreed, before starting to colour again.

"Why can't _we_ go to the Burrow?" James sighed, sitting on the floor.

"We go" Albus copied. James glared at him, before kicking him very lightly. Albus, taken by surprise, yelped in fright, and started crying.

Footsteps across the landing where heard, and a second later, a very pregnant, and very annoyed looking Ginny appeared at the doorway.

"James, what did you do?" she asked, as Al ran up to her, still sobbing.

"Nuffing" he said, looking away, back into the floo.

"'amie kicks me" Al cried into his Mum's legs. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her firstborn, and he scrunched up his face in utter annoyance.

"He copied me!" James protested, Albus just cried harder.

"Al, please stop crying, and James, please don't kick your brother, he's only little" Ginny sighed, stroking Al's hair soothingly, "How long ago did Daddy leave?"

"Daddy took Teddy away!" James wailed, tears flooding his eyes. Ginny looked on shocked as James' face grew wet with misery.

"He's coming back, Jamie" Ginny said, reaching down to embrace James, along with Al. James hugged his Mother's neck and wailed into her shoulder. Al clung onto her arm, but jumped as the fireplace suddenly erupted in green flames.

"Thank god you're back, Harry" Ginny said, straightening up, and grabbing Harry's hand. He looked curiously at the 2 sobbing boys, and instinctively bent down to comfort them.

 _What happened_ Harry mouthed at Ginny. She shrugged, and mouthed back,

 _You tell me!_

"James, what happened?" Harry asked, as Al returned back to his Mum.

" _Why_ does Teddy have to go!" he cried out, clinging onto Harry. Harry pulled him closer, and Ginny decided to leave the room, leaving this bit of explanation up to Harry.

"James, you do understand that Teddy isn't your real brother" Harry said, his heart breaking as the words left his mouth. James' eyes widened, and Harry wiped away a tear escaping them.

"Teddy _is_ my brother" James said, confused. Harry shook his head sadly.

"He's your _godbrother"_ Harry told him quietly.

"So he's my brother" James said, certain he had won the argument.

"In a way, yes" Harry said, nodding his head, "But me and Mummy aren't his Mummy and Daddy"

"You're not Teddy's Daddy?" James said, choking on tears, "Who's his Daddy?"

Harry took at deep breath, and in his head, tried to simplify the absence of Teddy's parents for a 4-year-old.

"They're…they're… away, James"

"Away where? They need to come back!" James cried, looking frantically at his Dad. Harry felt his heart burning as he furthered his explanation.

"Jamie, Teddy's parents are in heaven"

"Heaven? Is it nice there?" James' innocent soul made this so much harder to explain; much harder then having to explain it to Teddy when he was old enough.

"It's up above, in the clouds. It's a place where people go when they can't live on Earth anymore"

"Why can't they live on Earth?"

Harry smiled sadly at his son, and took his small hand in his own. He directed on his chest; right over his heart.

"Here, you feel it? That's my heart beat. The people who live in heaven don't have one anymore, and that's why they can't live on Earth anymore"

James moved his hand, and placed on his own chest. He smiled happily as he felt his own heart under his fingers.

"Teddy's Mum and Dad's heart beat stopped working when Teddy was a baby, so they moved away from Earth, to a place where people without heartbeats are allowed to stay"

"So he's not my brother?" James asked tearfully.

"Not by blood no-" Harry started, but James interrupted.

"Is Al my brother by blood?"

"Well, yes" Harry replied.

"Why?" James scowled.

"You know about baby Lily in Mummy's tummy, yes?" James nodded, "You were in there once, and so was Al, but Teddy wasn't in _your_ Mummy's tummy, he was in _his_ Mummy's tummy"

"So Teddy has different Mummy and Daddy?"

Harry nodded in confirmation.

"Does Teddy stay with Grandma?" James said, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Teddy lives with his Grandma, yes, but that's his Mummy's mummy, not your Mummy's Mummy" Harry tried to explain. James only looked more confused.

"He has different Grandparents, too" Harry simplified.

"Oh" James said, looking at the floor. Harry pulled him in a tight hug.

"Will your heartbeat ever stop, and you'll have to go to heaven too?" James whispered into his Dad's ear.

"Eventually, and yours will too, and even baby Lily's will stop when she gets old" Harry whispered back, trying not to think of death, when it was probably so far in the future for them all.

"And we'll all be in heaven together, with my Mummy and Daddy, and Teddy's Mummy and Daddy, and Uncle Fred and everyone else who's heartbeats have stopped"

"Heaven sounds nice" James smiled, his head resting on his Father's shoulder.

"It's very nice" Harry said back, closing his eyes.


End file.
